Have you joined the organic movement? If you have visited the local grocer recently, you have likely noticed an expanding organic section, typically offering a variety of foods. Organic foods that are truly grown without pesticides or hormones are rising in popularity due to growing concerns of how these substances affect the body and its health over the long term. Most individuals begin their organic shopping by purchasing fruits and vegetables, often later moving into milk, juice, meats and other products. Research suggests that some foods are more susceptible to pesticides than others. Therefore, there are some foods that you can purchase and remove the outer coating on, potentially removing the majority of the harmful pesticides before you consume them.

Top Fruits and Vegetables to Consider Purchasing as Organic

These fruits and vegetables are on the top of the list of things to purchase as organic as the outer coating or skin is often consumed with the food. Therefore, even with substantial washing, it is unlikely to remove the harmful pesticides potentially used in growing the products.

Fruits

These are the top fruits to purchase as organic:

• Peaches
• Strawberries
• Raspberries
• Apples
• Grapes
• Nectarines
• Pears
• Cherries
• Lemons when zesting

Vegetables

These are the top vegetables to purchase as organic:

• Potatoes
• Celery
• Cucumbers
• Spinach
• Lettuce
• Bell peppers
• Green beans

Fruits and Vegetables with the Least Amount of Exposure to Pesticides

When shopping for organic products, some will support the purchase of all products as organic. On the other hand, some will argue that certain organic products are a waste of money as their outer coating is either not consumed or is very thick, preventing all or most of the pesticides from penetrating to their cores. Some of the fruits and vegetables on the list considered as non-essential to purchase as organic include:

• Asparagus
• Avocados
• Bananas
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Kiwi
• Onions
• Pineapples
• Sweet pea

What About Other Organic Foods?

While fruits and vegetables are most commonly the organic products purchase of choice, there are a number of other products available at your local grocer or your local specialty stores.

Meat. One of the growing concerns for meat products is the hormones used with the animals. The other concern is the presence of pesticides used to feed the animals. When consumers purchase certified organic meat, the meat must come from animals that were fed organic feed and in which hormones or pesticides were not used.

Milk. Milk is important for almost anyone to consume, but it is particularly important for growing children. Concern about milk that is not organic is that it will contain pesticides. When a consumer purchases organic dairy products, they cannot contain either antibiotics or growth hormones.

Coffee. Something that most people do not give any thought to is to purchase organic coffee. With so much of the world making coffee a part of their day, more research has been ongoing as to the health benefits of purchasing organic coffee. Many coffee beans that are purchased outside of the US don’ t have the same kind of regulations on the use of chemicals or pesticides. So, the coffee that you purchase could have chemical and trace pesticides that were used when growing the plants. For these reasons, organic coffee sales have been on the rise.

Baby Foods. Individuals who are concerned with pesticides or chemicals used when growing foods ending up in baby foods often turn to organic products. While these products are generally slightly more expensive than traditional food products, many parents feel that the health benefits of organic far outweigh any of the costs.